Carolina Panthers: Offense continues improvement in third preseason win
Efficient offense continues to be the narrative for the Carolina Panthers and they displayed that against the New England Patriots.
This past Friday, the Carolina Panthers picked up their third 2018 preseason victory with a 25-14 victory over the New England Patriots. While the narrative is that these games do not count, it’s still important to review how well or badly teams performed during these outings. Carolina picked up its third victory, and that came with some key improvements and struggles on both sides of the ball.
Offensively, consistency remained the narrative for the Panthers. Under offensive coordinator Norv Turner, the Panthers are working tirelessly to develop an efficient passing attack that is effective without taking the multitude of risks that would have occurred in past seasons. Between four quarterbacks that played on Friday, the group completed 64 percent of their passes for 234 yards and one touchdown.
Cam Newton led all of the passers with 142 yards on 11-of-17 passing. The backup quarterback battle continued between Garret Gilbert and Taylor Heinicke. It seems as if Heinicke has won over the front office as he is preparing to start for the Panthers against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who they are playing on Thursday.
Both Gilbert and Heinicke performed well last week, completed five passes for 46 yards each. Gilbert had the only passing touchdown when he hit Mose Frazier in the third quarter. A big note for this game is that Carolina was successful in defending the quarterback as none of the men were sacked during this game.
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Diversity was key in both the passing and rushing game. Nine different players attempted at least one rushing play, while 14 different wide receivers were targeted. Curtis Samuel continued to look good for the Panthers as he caught three passes for 58 yards to lead the entire group. Christian McCaffrey ended the night with 64 yards from scrimmage.
Carolina is continuing to build an offensive unit that has a lot of options for Newton, but very few stand out, big play weapons; at least at this point. Samuel’s continued development and the addition of rookie D.J. Moore in the receiving game should have a positive impact.
Devin Funchess and Greg Olsen ended the night with six catches for 79 yards. It will be intriguing to watch and see how these two veterans mesh with the number of youthful players that have joined the Panthers offense.
The Carolina defense ended the day with one takeaway (a fumble) as they still continue to struggle to create disruption in the passing game. The Patriots ended the day with 211 yards through the air, completing 67 percent of all their passes. The defensive secondary has been a liability for Carolina the past two seasons and if this trend continues into 2018 it will hamper them against some of the more powerful offenses in the NFC South.
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The Panthers are set for their final preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday. Taylor Heinicke is expected to get the start in the final push for the backup quarterback position. This and a variety of other starting and backup positions are still up for battle as the Panthers solidify their roster for their 2018 campaign.